Every year at this time I like to rank each team’s top prospects. My criteria is based upon both past performance and future potential to his parent team. This is my ranking of the 2012 Texas Rangers Top Prospects. If you have any questions about my rankings, feel free to shoot me a message on twitter @Jaypers413

To qualify, a prospect must have fewer than 130 at-bats or 50 innings in MLB

Disclaimer – I did not attend any minor league games this year, nor do I claim to have any scouting experience. These lists are the product of my own research of statistics and online scouting reports.

With the 2011 minor league season complete we check in on the progress of each of the Texas Rangers preseason Top 15 prospects as ranked by our prospect ranker J.P. Schwartz. The post season grading report was done by the publisher of Top Prospect Alert, not Mr. Schwartz, and reflects only the 2011 season and not future upside or downside of the individual prospect. Our 2012 preseason rankings will be published in the coming months.

#1 Martin PerezGRADE: B-
Perez went a combined 8-6 with a 4.33ERA between the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders and the Triple-A Round Rock Express. He walked 56 and struck out 120 in 137.1 innings. Opposing batters hit .284 off of Perez on the season.

#2 Jurickson ProfarGRADE: A+
Profar batted .286 with 37 Doubles, 8 Triples, 12 Home Runs and 65 RBI’s for the Low-A Hickory Crawdads. He also stole 23 bases on the season. He walked 65 times and struck out 63 times in 115 games.

#3 Tanner ScheppersGRADE: B-
Scheppers went a combined 4-1 with a 3.71ERA and 2 Saves between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock. He walked 21 batters and struck out 44 in 43.2 innings. Opposing batters hit .252 off Scheppers on the year.

#4 Robbie ErlinTRADED TO SAN DIEGO
Erlin went to the Padres in the Mike Adams deal. He went a combined 9-4 with a 2.99ERA between the Low-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans, Double-A Frisco, and the Padres Double-A San Antonio affiliate. He walked just 16 batters while striking out 154 in 147.1 innings.

#5 David PerezGRADE: C
Perez went 1-4 with a 8.60ERA for the Short-A Spokane Indians. He walked 29 and struck out 43 in 30.1 innings. Opposing batters hit .223 against him on the season.

#6 Mike OltGRADE: B+
Olt batted .264 with 15 Doubles, 15 Home Runs, and 46 RBI’s between a four game rehab stop with the Rookie League AZL Rangers and 69 games with High-A Myrtle Beach. He walked 49 times and struck out 75 times in 73 at-bats.

#7 Engel BeltreGRADE: C-
Beltre batted .231 with 15 Doubles, 6 Triples, 1 Home Run and 28 RBI’s for Double-A Frisco. He also stole 16 bases on the season. He walked 28 times and struck out 103 times in 118 games.

#8 Roman MendezGRADE: A-
Mendez went 9-1 with a 3.31ERA for Low-A Hickory. He walked 45 and struck out 130 in 117 innings. Opposing batters hit .259 off Mendez on the season.

#9 Neil RamirezGRADE: A
Ramirez went a combined 5-3 with a 3.12ERA between High-A Myrtle Beach, Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock. He walked 44 and struck out 119 in 98 innings. Opposing batters hit just .215 off Ramirez on the season.

#10 Robbie RossGRADE: A
Ross went a combined 10-5 with a 2.34ERA between High-A Myrtle Beach and Double-A Frisco. He walked 33 batters and struck out 134 in 161.1 innings of work. Opposing batters hit just .228 off Ross on the year.

#11 Miguel de los SantosGRADE: B-
de los Santos went a combined 7-6 with a 5.04ERA between a rehab start with Rookie League AZL Rangers, 12 starts at High-A Myrtle Beach and 6 starts for Double-A Frisco. He walked 46 and struck out 142 in 94.2 innings. Opposing batters hit .219 off de los Santos on the season.

#13 Justin GrimmGRADE: B
Grimm went a combined 7-3 with a 3.39ERA between Low-A Hickory and High-A Myrtle Beach. He walked 48 and struck out 127 batters in 140.2 innings. Opposing batters hit .247 off Grimm on the season.

#14 Kellin DeglanGRADE: C
Deglan batted .227 with 15 Doubles, 1 Triple, 6 Home Runs, and 39 RBI’s for Low-A Hickory. He walked 34 times and struck out 91 times in 89 games.

The Texas Rangers have a history of developing young talent and pushing them quickly through their system. Jorge Alfaro is looking to follow in the footsteps of players like Jurickson Profar and Martin Perez. The 18 year old Alfaro is currently at Short-A Northwest League as a member of the Spokane Indians. He is currently hitting .324 with 5(2B), 1(3B), 4HR, and 13RBI’s. While his plate discipline is poor, 33 strikeouts and just 3 walks in 105 at-bats, scouts are buzzing about his talent. In the article, Alfaro talks about his desire to improve, and Rangers staff talk about just how good the young Colombian player could be.